The invention relates to a hinge with adjusting means, in which a hinge arm is, by means of at least one intermediate member, fastenable to a mounting plate and, by means of hinge links, or the like, connected with a second hinge part, for example a hinge casing, the intermediate member being at one end engageable in the mounting plate and pivotable thereon by means of a pivot bearing, and at the other end lockable by means of a pivot lever which is pivotally mounted on the intermediate member and comprises a hook member engaging with a projection of the mounting plate.
In conventional hinges the hinge arm is fastened to the mounting plate by means of a clamping screw, such clamping screw generally extending through an elongated hole to allow an adjustment of the hinge arm in the direction of the depth of the piece of furniture.
Lately snap-in connections for fastening the hinge arm to the mounting plate have become known. DE-A-30 26 796 and DE-A-30 39 328, for example, show hinges with a hinge arm and a fastening plate in which the two parts to be locked snap together by inserting the hinge arm into a guide of the fastening plate and by displacing the same in a longitudinal direction. A similar way of locking a hinge arm to a mounting plate is described in DE-A-24 60 127. DE-A-32 41 284 shows a hinge in which the hinge arm is insertable into lateral guides of a mounting plate and clampable to the mounting plate by means of an eccentric.
The above-described ways of locking the hinge arm have the advantage that the hinge arm very quickly can be fixed to the mounting plate when the piece of furniture is being assembled, and that no tool is required for the mounting operation. This advantage is not unimportant because the door must be held while the hinge arms are mounted. When, for example, the door is held with one hand and the hinge arm is to be mounted with the other hand, a second person is frequently required who fastens the clamping screw with a screw driver, when the hinge arm is to be locked by means of a clamping screw.
It is a disadvantage of hinges in which the hinge arm or the intermediate member must be inserted into the mounting plate from the front that tilting frequently occurs. This is particulaly the case with high doors which carry many hinges.
AT-PS No. 360 856 describes a hinge whose intermediate member is engageable at one end in the mounting plate and at the other end is provided with a pivot lever by means of which the intermediate member is lockable to the mounting plate. The scope of the invention is to improve such a hinge.
The invention is based on the problem of holding the mounted hinge arm on the mounting plate without clearance as far as possible.
EP-A3-0 043 903 describes a hinge comprising a hinge arm which is adapted to be pushed onto a mounting plate and held by a catching lever acted upon by a spring. The spring and the catching lever press the hinge arm permanently against a stop of the mounting plate. It is a disadvantage of this arrangement that secure supporting of the hinge arm is dependent on the force of the spring and that the spring must continuously hold the hinge arm, i.e. over a period of many years.